In-Home Physical Therapy for Osteoarthritis of the Knee

Osteoarthritis causes more disability in walking, stair climbing, and housekeeping than any other disease. People commonly believe that they have to live with the slowly intensifying pain, but physical therapy has a lot to offer, and a new scientific study shows this. A paper published in the British Journal of Medicine analyzes 54 studies covering 5,362 patients. Programs of targeted strengthening and coordination improvement have been shown to decrease joint loading, which decreases pain in movement now and has the potential to slow the progression of osteoarthritis.

This very large review was also able to compare the effects of receiving physical therapy at a center versus receiving physical therapy at home. Some people believe that therapy in a center will likely be better than what they could receive in the comfort of home. It turns out that the results are equal regardless of where you receive physical therapy. However, home health services offers other big advantages. We can also provide occupational therapy as part of the same program to help with in-home strategies and energy conservation techniques. Our nurses can perform a medication review to make sure your medications are functioning the way your doctor intended. Our staff can also conduct home safety assessments to prevent fall injuries. In short, when patients qualify for Medicare home health, we can provide an entire knee rehabilitation program from multiple types of professionals to achieve a comprehensive improvement in safety, comfort, and mobility.